Since the discovery of glass-ceramics by Stookey in the 1950s, there has been increasing demand for glass-ceramics with high strength and toughness for medical, structural, and consumer electronics markets. This article reviews recent developments in composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of glass-ceramics, with an emphasis on their mechanical performance. It reveals that glass-ceramics with strength and toughness comparable to structural ceramics, such as Al2O3, have been successfully developed. Meanwhile, efforts are being devoted to creating glass-ceramics with further improved damage resistance. With inspiration from natural materials such as jade, baddeleyite, bone, and nacre, glass-ceramics with unique microstructures and properties have been obtained. Further progress is needed in the design of novel compositions, microstructures, and phase assemblages to activate multiple toughening mechanisms in glass-ceramics for significant improvements in strength and toughness.

Glass-ceramics have gained considerable importance for applications in high-energy technology. Li- and Na-superionic ion-conducting ceramics find widespread use in lithium- and sodium-ion batteries as separators, solid electrolytes, and cathode materials. The ionic conductivity of these materials is influenced by crystal chemical parameters and can be further optimized via microstructural control using glass-ceramic processing. This article summarizes the most promising glass-ceramic material systems currently in use, detailing recent progress in understanding their structure–property–performance relationships. We also highlight the power and potential of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques for providing quantitative knowledge about structure, phase composition, and ion dynamics in these materials.

Crystallization in glasses is usually considered to be a problem in the glass industry. However, controlled crystallization of glasses is an important prerequisite in the development of glass-ceramics with tailored useful properties. Similar boundary conditions apply when considering glass-ceramics for the immobilization of nuclear waste via vitrification. While uncontrolled crystallization in nuclear-waste glasses is problematic, chemically durable glass-ceramics with significantly high waste loadings can be produced with controlled crystallization of glasses. This article presents an overview of various aspects of nuclear-waste glasses where crystallization is either considered to be advantageous or problematic. The classification of glass-ceramic waste forms and strategies to design glass-ceramics for a given waste stream is discussed. Some open and relevant problems faced by researchers developing nuclear-waste glass-ceramics are also offered.

The novel Three-dimensional rambutan-like NiCo2O4 microspheres have been successfully coated onto surface of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) to form NiCo2O4–CNFs hybrids. The composition and microstructure of NiCo2O4–CNFs were characterized by the field-emission scanning electronmicroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffractometer. The obtained NiCo2O4–CNFs exhibited a specific capacity of 160 mAh/g at 1 mA/cm2 in 2 M potassium hydroxide aqueous solution. The specific capacity gradually increases with the increasing of cycles; and after 3000 cycles, the specific capacity still can be remained over 90%.

The design, properties, and applications of transparent glass-ceramics are reviewed. Interference effects in light scattering by transparent glass-ceramics are discussed. The scattering coefficient of transparent glass-ceramics is found to be significantly less than that for the case of independent Rayleigh scattering by nanocrystals; its wavelength dependence is qualitatively different. A reduction in interference effects achieved by precipitation of nanocrystals of different crystalline phases with different scattering properties results in glass-ceramics with high diffuse reflection. The origin of the low coefficient of thermal expansion of glass-ceramics is discussed based on the temperature dependence of the unit cell parameters of β-quartz solid solutions measured by in situ high-temperature x-ray diffraction. Transparent glass-ceramics doped with Co2+ and Ni2+ ions for thermal shock-resistant color filters, for broadband near-infrared (IR) optical amplifiers, and for passive Q-switching of eye-safe Er lasers are presented. Glass-ceramics with rare-earth titanates, titanates-zirconates, and niobates in dual roles of nucleators and active crystals are reviewed.

Crystal structures of two fused cyclic compounds, 4-(methyl(sulfonyl)methoxy-2-vinyl)-2S*,3aR*,4S*,5,7aS*-(hexahydro-1H-indan-3a-yl)methylmethanesulfonate (1) and (1S*,2S*,4S*,7R*)-7-(dimethyl(phenyl)silyl)-4′,5′-dihydro-2′H-spiro[bicyclo[2.2.1]hept[5]ene-2,3′-furan]-2′-one (2), have been solved from laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data using direct space approach and refined following the Rietveld method. In the absence of strong hydrogen bond donating groups, the crystal packing of 1 and 2 exhibits C–H ⋯ O hydrogen bonds and C–H ⋯ π interactions forming two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular network. The nature of intermolecular interactions in 1 and 2 has been analyzed through the Hirshfeld surface and 2D fingerprint plots. The density functional theory optimized molecular geometries in 1 and 2 agree closely with those obtained from the crystallographic study. Hirshfeld surface analysis of 1, 2 and a few related fused carbocyclic and carbooxacyclic systems retrieved from the Cambridge Structural Database indicates that about 85% of Hirshfeld surface area in these compounds are because of H ⋯ H and O ⋯ H interactions.